We took a break to focus on E3 last week and now that I’ve dumped a Big Gulp of Visine into my eyeballs, it’s once again time to talk new comics. It’s a good week to dive back in as Aspen Comics celebrates 15 years as a company by launching a new volume of its flagship title, Fathom.

FATHOM Vol 7 #1

Story: Ron Marz

Art: Siya Oum

Colors: Peter Steigerwald

Letters: Zen

Publishedby: Aspen Comics

With Michael Turner’s most popular creation heading to the big screen in a few years, it’s more important than ever that the character have a compelling library of stories to capitalize on. Fathom’s previous volume, written by Blake Northcott, did a superb job of contemporizing superhero marine biologist Aspen Matthews without feeling as if it were simply pandering for new readers. I didn’t know what to expect going into this new series by veteran comics writer Ron Marz. What we get by the opening’s final page is a true mixed bag of serviceable (at times ham-fisted) writing buttressed by some of the most breathtaking Siya Oum art that rivals Michael Turner himself.

Fathom #1 starts out incredibly promising with a tense kidnapping scene as the Russian military abducts Aspen’s brother Finn. The way the sequence is brought in by the fish tank captures the aquatic theme of this world in a simple yet fun way. You never feel out of the water by this book, in fact, you can’t help but walk away from this issue feeling hydrated AF. Though from opening, it gets a bit predictable as you don’t even need to get to the end to be presented the series premise. Before we get to Aspen officially being on a mission to save her brother you have to deal with lots of exposition about Fathom, The Blue, The War, and her situation of government protection which is all meant to lower the fence for new readers. While it’s necessary, I feel as though it could have been streamlined a bit better versus being the only meat in this sandwich. Perhaps my biggest problem with Fathom #1 is how it handles moral messaging. Campaigning for us in the real world to be more mindful of rampant ocean pollution was something more digestible when the character first debuted but in today’s world of –easy to be anti–, public service announcements in comics come off a bit off-putting if they’re not treated with nuance. The issue devotes an entire scene to Fathom explaining the hardships of a sea turtle she’s caring for when there was never any piece of dialogue that suggested the man in the suit wanted to know what that animal’s situation was. It’s the epitome of not allowing the readers to work for their meal.

There is one reason and one reason alone why you should even bother putting Fathom #1 on top of that growing pile of comics you need to read.

The art of Siya Oum polished by the work of Peter Steigerwald.

Siya is best known to fans of Aspen Comics for her creator-owned apocalyptic western Lola XoXo. When she illustrates and colors her own work, it’s got a Copic hand-crafted charm that few artists outside of convention commisions even bother with. When she does pencils and inks exclusively on Fathom, I have a hard time accepting it’s her art. Her work goes from good to exquisite in this book. Except for defining muscle and emphasizing actions, linework is kept to a minimum which allows Steigerwald to set the right ambiance through all the cool tone colors the book shows off. While the work of the two together is magnificent, Oum on her own creates some captivating beauty shots that look like they could all be on a poster. Looking at some of the finished product, I had problems believing it wasn’t drawn by Michael Turner himself.

Fathom #1 sets up too simple of a story, one which hopefully gets more complex over the next issue or two. However, if you’re a fan of the art of comics, this is one of the most beautiful issues you’ll see all year.

BTVS SEASON 12 THE RECKONING #1 (DARK HORSE)
(W) Joss Whedon, Christos N. Gage (A) Karl Story (CA) Georges Jeanty
If you still remember UPN and The WB network then you'll probably want more Buffy which this book delivers.The rest of us can move on.

ARCHIES SUPERTEENS VS CRUSADERS #1 (Archie Comics)
(W) Ian Flynn, David Williams, Gary Martin (CA) Gary Martin (A/CA) Kelsey Shannon, David Williams
The book has a hard time deciding if it wants to be juvenille or taken seriously. Pass.

FRUIT NINJA ANCIENT ORIGINS #1 (Keenspot Entertainment)
No. Just. No

LOST CITY EXPLORERS #1 (Aftershock Comics)
(W) Zack Kaplan (A) Alvaro Sarreseca (CA) Rafael La Torre
A great book that feels like an urban Goonies.

Aspen Comics is celebrating their 15 year anniversary throughout 2018. Since January, the publisher has brought back titles such as Shrugged and announced new volumes of current books such as Executive Assistant Iris as part of it, but Tuesday the New York Times had the exclusive on what may be their biggest news of the year.

LtoR: Scooter Braun, David Maisel, Scott Manson. Photo: NYT

Music mogul Scooter Braun, founding chairman of Marvel Studios David Maisel, and SB projects COO Scott Manson are forming a new film company called Mythos Studios. This new studio has a resume of success respectively with such names as Kanye West, Justin Beiber, and all of the early MCU films. Mythos direction is what should come as news to Aspen Comics fans as the group not only committed to bringing back the Fathom movie to production and a Soulfire film but have also acquired a 50% ownership stake in the publisher.

So what made this new company take on a character not as well known as Superman or Batman? Aspen’s flagship character was one of the first properties on the powerhouse trio’s list when forming. David Maisel is a big fan of Aspen founder Michael Turner’s artwork and had met the studio a few years back. As most things in entertainment, it’s about doing things at the right moment in time. Maisel’s partnering with Braun needs a project that hasn’t been tapped and Fathom is a project everyone involved is very passionate about. The bubble of superhero projects in entertainment also doesn’t scare Maisel as when Marvel was set to produce films on their leftover characters, only comic book fans knew who Iron Man was. Now characters such as Iron Man, Captain America, and Groot are household names. The team’s philosophy is telling a great story gets people to care about characters regardless of their popularity.

In addition to adapting characters to film created by the late Michael Turner, Mythos is also looking to the public domain for other IP to bring to film. It’s an interesting proposition to have the executive who convinced Marvel to take a chance in film spearheading one of comics most underrated characters.

While Aspen Comics has new 50% ownership coming out of this deal, no changes have been announced or expected in the near future. The publisher is currently focused on delivering the remaining titles centered around their anniversary which include Fathom by Ron Marz and Siya Oum, and EA Iris by Blake Norcott.

Saturday at SDCC, Aspen Comics held their annual panel with a few more faces in the crowd than recent years and some new ones on stage. The company talked about their current slate of books and two exciting things readers will soon read; musician/YouTube sensation Lindsey Stirling and the company’s 2018 anniversary.

In traditional Aspen custom, Peter Steigerwald opened the morning with an “Aloha” and Frank Mastromauro had tons of slides to show the packed room. On the panel were E-I-C Vince Hernandez, Jordan Gunderson, JT Krul, Siya Oum, Scott Lobdell, and Blake Norcott. Joining the group for the first time were Ron Marz, Darick Robertson, and making her own fashionably late entrance Lindsay Stirling.

The Aspen veterans brought everyone up to speed on current books such as Soulfire, Norcott’s surprise hit Fathom, Oum’s returning Lola XoXo, and Lobdell’s team book featuring a transgender character No World.

One of the other upcoming projects from the publisher is their follow up event to Revelations, a heavier villain driven special called Decimation written by Hernandez. They’re pitching the series as the company’s version of introspective evil like Marvel’s Acts of Vengeance.

Popularity of the company’s joint variant ventures continues to grow and those who collect them were not only able to score six special books at Comic-Con featuring Turner created art of Spider-Man and Supergirl, but more were announced at the panel. In August, a special DC Comics Dark Nights Metal variant cover will be published with Batman art originally sketched by Turner but colored by Steigerwald in the style of Rebirth DC. The cover will be part of a triplicate image that connects to Superman and Wonder Woman images also done by Turner.

In 2018, the company will celebrate 15 years while at the same time its flagship character created by the late Michael Turner, Fathom, will be celebrating 20 years. It’ll be a special time for one of the publishers which grew alongside the San Diego Comic Con itself. As part of its plans, seasoned comics writer Ron Marz will pen 2018’s Fathom title as part of the anniversary. Marz talked about the idea coming while both creators were in Cuba for either a spy mission or a cultural comic exchange. Though the group can’t divulge story details yet, Marz mentioned this was a book he’d always wanted to do. Not to be outdone, the publisher’s other big character, Soulfire, will be turning 15 years old and writer JT Krul will be doing a new story for it.

Aspen in San Diego hasn’t seen that packed a room since the days when Turner himself would meet fans at the convention. 2017’s crowd was due in part to the recent announcement of a new comic book series inspired by the generation’s most famous violinist, Lindsey Stirling. Sparrow, co-written and drawn by Darick Robertson, tells the fantasy story of a young girl in a dying world without hope. While the book isn’t completely autobiographical, each issue will be named and inspired by one of Stirling’s songs. Robertson and Stirling talked about an instant creator connection with one another. Lindsay, though not a comic book fan by birth found herself drawn into the imagination of the medium. Sparrow will also feature covers drawn by arguably the Picasso of comic book covers, David Mack.

Film directors and celebrities aren’t anything new to comics, but Stirling represents a potential new well comics may seek more of in the future depending on how the book does. With the world moving more towards digital entertainment it’s not out of the possibility to see other online personalities enlisted to keep the comic book industry modern. Sparrow certainly has the right pedigree for sucess, it’ll be interesting to see what the final product is.

Hello, a bit of an apology to start this week. I’d written through reviews for about 4 books last night before putting a frozen quart of ice cream in my microwave like some f**king impatient goblin which somehow shut down my internet service on a page undrafted at the time. I can’t explain the science behind it, I just know the event occurred at the moment I hit the start button. So because of the backlog of interviews I need to transcribe, I’m just going to go a little depth on a book that I feel is a hell of an opening.

Note: If you’re looking for the low down on debuts from DC and Marvel check out the good work over on their respective rundowns on The Beat.

All-New Fathom #1

Story: Blake Northcott

Art: Marco Renna

Colors: John Starr

Inks: Mark Roslan

Letters: Zen

Publisher: Aspen Comics

Aspen Comics is a publisher who for much of its existence has shied away from following the trends of the big two. Last year saw Aspen cross properties which existed in separate worlds. The Aspen Universe: Revelations crossover event saw Michael Turner’s Soulfire and Fathom collide in a crisis which crescendoed into the birth of a shared Aspen universe. Now, in following with another big two move, Aspen Comics is debuting its new post Revelations #1s with the character that started it all, All-New Fathom #1, featuring a brand new creative team of debuting comics writer Blake Northcott and artist Marco Renna.

When an old enemy of Fathom’s underwater race, The Blue, emerges; it’s up to Aspen Matthews to protect surface dwellers from Snyderesque levels of collateral damage. This new enemy known as the Typhos has a vendetta which we’re set up to learn more about as the series progresses. This number one is all about setting up a blockbuster action story through the recap of Aspen Matthews day, which happens to also be a brawl.

Blake Northcott’s debut is a –drop you in the action– opening that doesn’t bog you down with ham-fisted exposition, but that isn’t even the best part. What All-New Fathom does incredibly well is nail character voice. Fathom stories are at their best when the writer has an understanding of what makes our heroine Aspen Matthews compelling. A warrior caught in a war between two worlds, a woman who is humble but not unwilling to carry the heavy flag of breaking ceilings in science and athletics. There’s more on-point character dialogue than in Fathom’s previous outings, made apparent to readers when our protagonist finds herself in disbelief that the internet would focus more on the fact that a woman is in the middle of a street wearing a bathing suit than her being one of two superpowered beings doing battle above a city. It’s a fine use of commentary on multiple levels.

Where I found most of my problems is in the art department. Which is a shock to me as I’ve always regarded Aspen Comics as a place that cultivates talent and turns adequate artists great. Allow me to begin with what I liked here. If you can’t have a master like Aspen’s Peter Steigerwald color the book, John Starr isn’t a bad choice. The FX and vibrancy make up for shortcomings while not overtaking the attention. Where the book has problems is on a single level of illustrator, Marco Renna’s pencils; specifically facial details. The artist’s layouts and planning of action shots work well. However, when it comes to the conversational parts, there are touches of uneven detail in forehead and hair sizes. While they’re small details they tend to take away from how good other shots in the book are. If you look at the below character design by Alex Konat and the lucid sketch work of Renna, it’s apparent when compared to the final product something got lost in the execution. Aspen Comics is a studio that brings artists up to an industry standard that DC and Marvel are fine with using, hopefully, that will be the case as All-New Fathom continues.

Despite shortcomings, I haven’t been this happy with a Fathom book since founder Michael Turner himself was drawing it. All-New Fathom #1 is a proper start that doesn’t hold readers hands, instead, lets them enjoy the work being unfolded before their eyes. Blake Northcott is definitively the most suited writer for this book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

[Won] All-New Fathom #1 feels like the start of something great.

SDCC 2015 hasn’t been a slouch in the announcements department especially if you’re a fan of comics. Friday morning, Aspen Comics held their Comic-Con caucus in room 9 kicking off with a big traditional “Aloha” and leading to a couple of big teases for fans.

Frank opened with the upcoming Eternal Soulfire showing off the Century Edition cover which was an SDCC exclusive. With Eternal Soulfire debuting this week more covers for issues three and four were shown off including a large piece separated into four different covers. The Vettix sketch cover initiative cover was talked about and their lineup for auction includes Art Adams with more names to follow soon. Vettix helps armed forces men and women attend hard to score events like comic-con.

The presentation transitioned into the recently launched Fathom Blue. One of the two Aspen team books set in the Fathom universe. Some scantily clad covers and regular covers for issue 2 through 5 were showing.

David Wohl talked about his new project called Santeria: City of Fear (working title). Wohl talked about wanting to do a paramedic story. It’s about a woman who saves someone’s live and in doing so is thrust into a world of Santeria. The pitch for the book sounds like an interesting take on what the cost of saving a life could be.

Oniba Swords of the Demon by Paolo Pantalena is a series featuring a female samurai. Her feudal Japan timeline story will see the heroine battle intricately designed monsters. There’s a sketchbook available at the Aspen booth featuring some intense line art.

The Big Dog Ink rundown started with an update on Critter. Some con exclusive covers were shown which should be available on the publisher’s online store. After Critter will be Legend of Oz Wicked West in October. Wrapping up the BDI stuff is a tease for new Shahrazad stuff next year.

Panel exclusive Critter #1

Jirni Volume two debuts in August. Some new covers for the series were shown and Marion’s art really bumps up his game here.

The all ages Psycho Bonkers showed off some covers including one by MLP artist Agnes Garabowska.

LOLA XoXo Wasteland Madam had some new cover art to show off by the impressive Siya Oum. She’ll return to writing the LOLA series with Vol 2 whileWasteland Madam continues to be written by Vince Hernandez.

Steigerwald talked about the delay with Zoohunters. His current DC Commitments were taking more time than they should have but he’ll be returning to the book very soon.

Following the recent movement of Aspen Novels is Aspen Novellas. The first one in the line will feature the world of Executive Assistant Iris. They’ll be shorter than the novels but an expansion into the comics’ worlds that takes prose form.

Dellec and Shrugged will have new Volumes at some point. The stories for each are in the works but current titles are the focus. Mastromauro explained the publisher can only handle a certain number of books a month.

The Scourge,Scott Lobdell’s previous Aspen series is in talks to be a feature film and has a screenwriter.

A gorgeous Michael Turner gallery edition collecting the legendary artist’s Batman/Superman run through the lens of the original pages is currently available at the show and at Graphitti Designs. The oversized book is a must for fans of Turner and orginal art which also contains tons of cover work and designs for his various DC Comics contributions. Fans can flip through one at the Graphitti booth, but be prepared for the best impulse buy ever.

The panel announced this year’s Halloween Fest book will be a Psycho Bonkers coloring and activity book for kids.

The publisher also announced a catch up with day-and-date digital as well as the back catalog continuing to update with Comixology.

For years Aspen has always had their IP on the cusp of breaking into other mediums, while there has been movement on a few things; according to Mastromauro the thing closest to being a reality is Executive Assistant: Iris. In the group’s opinion it’s the property that would be cost effective for a studio to tackle. Even teasing that it could be a SDCC 2016 announcement.

Before the panel kicked off, Lobdell crowd bombed a photo for social media. Opening with their usual “ALOHA!” The first sarcastically came from Scott on how the tradition started. Once introductions were made the group started with announcements.

Starting with Shahrazad, the first title to come over from Big Dog Ink. A few covers for the second issue were shown with Mike DeBalfo’s being the more gorgeous of the batch, which include J.Scott Campbell retailer incentive covers. Tom Hutchison gave attendees a few tidbits about the next storyline being a more future sci-fi story and a natvie american lineage tale will follow that. Before the coming into the Aspen family few had heard of books like Shahrazad, but after reading issue one it’s apparent they do deserve attention from the eyes of the comic world.

Critter is the next book to come over from BDI. ALso written by Hutchinson, the book is, “his love letter to the superhero genre. For anyone who followed the series; the reprints of the issues through Aspen will also include new eight page backup stories. Critter will be in stores this July. The Legened of OZ Wicked West is also coming. It’s a jam packed action adventure set in the Oz universe with a mix of a spagehtti western.

Lobdell moved into talking about the new Four Points series. He’s pitched this story for quite sometime but needed to find a place for it in the Aspen universe. All the covers for issue one were shown including the Wondercon variant available on the show floor. Four Points is the team story of superpowered females who control the four elements which reluctantly ban them together to stop the horsemen of the apocalypse. A few upcoming covers for issue three were shown and they’re will even be some interconnecting covers. Lobdell just help up the last page of issue one, which actually is a good cliffhanger and connection to the rest of the Aspen Universe.

The Four Points #4

The Four Points #3

Vince Hernandez talked about a new title for May geared towards younger audiences, Psycho Bonkers. It’s an all ages friendly title about a young girl named Shine trying to take on the world with a talking race car. Hernandez called it, “Saturday morning cartoon fun.” Roslan sold it as Aspen’s version of a Pixar film. Deviating from the fantasy worlds is nothing new for the publisher but this looks like it could be their boldest move yet.

Psycho Bonkers Cover

Psycho Bonkers Int

Roslan dove into Fathom Blue, a brand new ongoing Fathom series. The first introduced in ten years. The group thinks of this team book set in the Fathom universe as their version of Uncanny X-Men. Every character is a Blue, whose been hiding amongst humanity and now they’re being hunted by a military general seeking to destroy them. The book starts in June, but a FCBD preview will be available.Eternal Soulfire is another new series that will debut as part of FCBD.

Soulfire Eternal #1

One of the most succcessful books from Aspen’s 10-for-10, Jirni, is returning for a new volume. J.T. Krul will write the character he created and V. Ken Marion is officially announced on art. According to the writer, this is a new story that will explore different parts of the world in a more adventure driven fashion. Jirni’s first volume was a solid — put you in the moment– fantasy the likes of Arabian Nights. The pencils for the first issue were shown and they look very reminiscent of Michael Turner’s style. This one could be even better than the first, we won’t have to wait long to find out as it’s scheduled for later this year.

Jirni Vol 2 Cover

Jirni Vol 2 Int

The covers for LOLA xoxo: Wasteland Madam were shown. Along with Four Points, the book will be in stores next week. Siya Oum’s work is as beautiful as her first series, but this one will be written by Vince Hernandez. Siya’s LOLA xoxo series itself will also have a second volume later on this year.

Roslan rounded out the presentation portion with Damsels in Excess wrapping up next month and Peter Stiegerwald’s The Zoohuntersupcoming issues. Stiegerwald is catching up on the series and is ramping up the father/son tragedy element of the story.

With there presentation running a bit longer than expected, only a short fan Q&A was held.

Are all of Critter’s issues getting reprints?
Yes, but more so in trade form.

Update on the movies?
” Still in the works, waiting on something more concreate before we say anything,” said Roslan.

Why doesn’t the studio do longer runs on their books?
” Depends on the property… newer ones will come back for a second volume.”
Lobdell asked the fan if that was important to him. The rest of the crowd was divided between long runs and short arcs.

Reason for the nautical theme of Shahrazad?
“Awesomest thing to put a pirate on… an aircraft carrier,” answered Hutchinson.

The panel finished with another traditional “Aloha!” Those in attendance were also given gorgeous mini prints for The Four Points and a Shahrazad by J.Scott Campbell. In a con that’s been great so far with Geek fashion programing and great informative stuff from Boom! and Image, but has had little in the way of comics excitement, Aspen’s panel livened things up and getting a gift for showing up is never a bad thing.

By Davey Nieves

As Aspen Comics announced towards the end of last year the Fathom universe’s anti-hero Kiani would get a new volume in her saga. Written by Vince Hernandez, with Giuseppe Cafaro on art, this February will see Fathom: Kiani Vol.4 #1 hit stores.

Following the catastrophic destruction of the Volna, the Russian Government’s secret Blue research facility, the United States has decided to take action against the rising threat of the Blue. However, in Africa, Kiani and Anika discover that their family bond is stronger than any one army—as their fight to survive above the surface will lead to a revolution amongst the people that will change the landscape of the human race forever!

Fathom: Kiani #1 will be out February 11th, 2015. Check out the preview below including a painfully cute cover by MLP artist Agnes Garabowska.

By David Nieves

2014 has been quite a year for Aspen Comics, following their 10th anniversary in ’13, the house that Michael Turner built made waves striking a deal with digital platform Madefire and recently acquiring publishing rights for some of Big Dog Ink’s titles. Now they’re wrapping up the convention year Sunday afternoon with a panel at Comikaze. We’re sure to hear more details on the Big Dog Ink partnership plans, and how the company will evolve some of their staple characters for today’s modern readership. Aspen sent over a preview of a few titles they’ll be talking about and showing tomorrow, one of the things we’ll hear about also includes a new project by Scott Lobdell.

We’ll be covering the panel tomorrow, but you can see a preview of it below.